grant approved, money not landed? drawing down is a project of its own.

Winning the grant is the photo in the local paper. Drawing it down is the part nobody warns you about, and right now, hundreds of clubs around the country are sitting on approvals from the last Sports Capital round that haven't been fully paid out.

Since the old portal was taken offline, drawdown and payment requests go to the Department by email, county by county. That means a clean paper trail matters more than ever: formal approval, works carried out, invoices and evidence per element, and payment claims that match what was approved.

The clock is real

Drawdown windows are not open-ended. Grants that sit unclaimed can be withdrawn, and deadlines vary by scheme and letter of approval. If your club has an approval and the works haven't started, the first job is to find the letter and check the date.

Where clubs get stuck

• The project changed. Costs moved since the application; the club needs fresh quotes and sometimes Department approval for the change.
• No supplier lined up. The approval exists, but nobody's priced or scheduled the actual works.
• Evidence gaps. Invoices that don't match elements, missing proof of payment, tenure documents nobody can find.